Red Clay Dance presents our 5th Annual Dance4Peace Youth Concert and Community Hug Awards.
The Dance4Peace youth concert is a powerful showcase of the next generation of contemporary dancers, currently in training at RCDC’s dance academy. This family-friendly concert is a celebration of youth taking ownership of their choices by actively committing their time, talents, and energy to creating and presenting high-quality dance works that promote peace and positivity. This year's concert theme is “Global Connections.” Join Red Clay’s youth company as they exemplify what it means to be a “global citizen,” expressed through the art form of dance.
Dance4Peace will feature performances by the Red Clay Dance YouthEnsemble & Dance Academy along with students from the company’s partner sites: Matteson Community Center, Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts, and Educare Pre-School. Special guest performances from Ensemble Espanol Spanish Youth Dance Company and New Trier High School will complete the evening’s program.
The very talented Red Clay Dance Youth ensemble will premiere new work from emerging guest choreographer Dedrick Gray and Red Clay Dance Youth Ensemble member Zakiya Kimble.
The evening will also include an award ceremony recognizing a local hero. Each year, RCDC selects one recipient for the prestigious Community Hug Award. This award is given to acknowledge and celebrate a community champion and their unwavering commitment to creating peaceful and positive opportunities for youth in Chicago communities through the Arts. This year’s awardee is the legendary Dr. Walt Whitman, the founder of world-famous youth choir Soul Children of Chicago. Founded in 1981, The Soul Children of Chicago is an award-winning powerhouse that has performed all over the United States as well as in countries such as Sweden, Italy, Holland, Israel, and Switzerland. In 2010, this Chicago treasure performed live on television for billions of fans during the opening of the World Cup. RCDC is honored to present the Hug Award to Dr. Whitman in recognition of nearly four decades of youth-focused, arts-based positive community impact.
Past Hug Awardees include Cleopatra Cowley and Nate Pendleton, parents of Hydia Pendleton, Homer Hans Bryant, and Monica Halsip, founder of Little Black Pearl.
The culmination of this fantastic annual concert and award event is the announcement of our college and summer intensive scholarship winners.
